Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (1 Tim. 6:17-18)

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

My Personal Top 10 Favorite Blog Posts in 2011

During this holiday week, I thought I would share some of my favorite blog posts that I have written over the last year here on Rich Christian, Poor Christian. I believe these posts reflect some of my best writing and the most thought-provoking information that I have shared with my readers. Please note, this list includes my personal favorites, but they do not necessarily reflect the most popular posts according to pageview traffic.

In order to read each post listed below in it's entirety, just click on the embedded links. So, without further delay, here are my top ten favorite posts [drum roll, please]:

Larry's Top 10 Favorite Blog Posts In 2011

10. You Are An Alien. In this post, I discuss the concept that is introduced in the New Testament regarding the fact that Christians are really "aliens" in a foreign land. Earth is not our permanent home; heaven is. Unfortunately, the way most believers live, though, does not reflect this truth. We are so obsessed with our stuff here on earth, that we forget what is truly important in this life and our eternal life to come.

9. The Blessing of Experiencing God. In this post, I continue to get "real" with my blog readers regarding everything that has happened to me over the last couple of years, further details regarding My Story of divorce and recovery. During a horrible time of my life, I learned what it truly means to run to God and to lean on Him for his help and strength to get me through it all. Even though what happened to me and my family was definitely not my master plan for my life, God used a horrible experience in order for me to have a deeper encounter with Him.

8. Staying debt free through divorce. One of the cool experiences that I had with God during my divorce was how He kept me debt free during a painful and expensive process. Even after increasing my giving in order to help my church during these turbulent, economic times, God honored my faithfulness to Him and His Kingdom work by providing for my all of my needs in every way. To this day, I am still blown away by God's provision. God's math always works way better than our math!

7. Thankful for the Journey. In this post, I reflect on the truth that the Thanksgiving Day holiday was birthed out of a painful period in our nation's history. Whether times are good or bad, the attitude of the believer should always be one of thanksgiving. I had to discover this myself in my own difficult journey.

6. Who or What Is In Your Backpack? In this post, I reflect on a movie called Up In The Air starring George Clooney. The big takeaway for me in this film was the idea of "who or what is in your backpack?" The relationships that we build on our journey through life are vitality important. Stuff, not so much.

5. Radical Life Changes Challenge Us To Make Changes. In this post, I once again reflect back on the challenging times that I have encountered for the last few years. I acknowledge that if it were not for the extreme challenges that I have faced during this time period of my life, I would not have made the necessary changes in my life that I needed to make. All things truly do work together for the good of those that love God and have been called according to His purpose.

4. Lessons From Nazareth | Donkey Path Living. I was inspired to write this post while traveling through Israel back in May. During my trip, our tour guide pointed out the zig-zag streets that are present in towns that are built on the sides of mountains. These streets were originally donkey paths. Donkeys naturally take the path of least resistance when walking up hills and mountains. Many times, we need to take this same approach when dealing with major challenges in our lives.

3. How To Discover Your Wolrdview On Money. For the Christian, there are two possible worldviews you can take with money. The first is the secular worldview. The second is a Biblical worldview. Unfortunately, though, many believers are handling their personal finances according to the world's approach to money. God's Word, though, has a lot to say about money. Christians need to dig deeper into the Bible and follow God's financial principles.

2. Praying for the Double Blessing. Once again, in this particular post, I reflect back over the last few years of my life. I compare my journey to that of Job in the Old Testament. On the other side of his journey, God gave Job a "double blessing" for staying faithful to Him through all of his trials. The second half of Job's life was twice as good as the first! In my own life situation, I have been praying for that same kind of outcome. Now that I'm on the other side of a lot of my mess, I can truly say that God has been faithful and blessed me in incredible ways over the last year.

1. God Lessons at the Park. As a writer and a dad, this post was just a pure stroke of inspiration as I was taking a bike ride with my daughter one early, warm, spring day. It's my absolute favorite post of 2011 because I was moved to write about my relationship with my daughters and how that compares to our relationship with God the Father. Good stuff.

So, out of my personal Top 10 list, do you have a favorite post that spoke to you or that God used in your life? Feel free to leave me a comment below and tell me your story. I'd love to hear it.